Puppy stopped suckling ? Wont suckle anymore ? Stopped at 7 days old

[Rebanne]

I wouldn't feed farex, weetbix or the like. Raw, good quality mince rolled into tiny balls is a much better meal. Let them suck it up off your fingers. Any food you start with will quite likely upset their bowels to a certain extent. Little or not they will love sucking on raw red meaty bones. I also never worm my pups until they are 4 weeks old. I just thing they handle it better then starting at two weeks. Break up the tiny tablets and stick it into the mince they are eating of your fingers. Much easier then trying to get a liquid into them.

[persephone]

28 minutes ago, Rebanne said:

I wouldn't feed farex, weetbix or the like.

Agree- they are not human infants

[~Anne~]

Agree about farex/weet bix. Years ago (like 50+ years ago) we fed this to pups but there was a lot less known about canine nutrition back then and a lot less commercial products you could buy. It certainly didn’t do much harm but I think there are far better options available now. 

I’d try a commercial wet puppy food made as a slushy with the formula you’ve been feeding and progressing to water, if you’re not keen on raw meat. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by ~Anne~

[Amazetl]

Yes, I’m not a breeder. I was only saying what I started them on for some mush. I know a lot of people are happy to do raw but I would never do it because of any small risk, even though I know logically the risk is so minimal. 

 

It never did any harm and their toilets were good and it was just an initiation to some solid food as I found the texture of just a little wheat bix with the milk helped them transition for the first couple days while they figured out chewing. Because it was a complete hand rearing situation I wanted to get them onto solids in a safe way as soon as possible and being inexperienced back then I was terrified they’d choke. 

 

Everyone does things differently but there is so much advice out there, just make sure it’s safe and sound advice and that it works for your situation. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Amazetl

[Dogsfevr]

We have used farex for near 30 yrs at the 3/4 week stage never had any issues .

Used on breeds that would be similar size to the op pups which is small .

Farex is used by many successfully with goats milk and becomes a good intro to food.

We don't start meat until they have mastered the farex stage as there so small and then we absolutely use mince and many other options by then .

 

When we had our large breed pups it was the polar opposite in what they could eat safely .

 

I would not give a tiny breed a bone until way older .

 

As a note a friend very successful Pom breeder lost a pup at 3/4 weeks as they opted to do the meat suggestion and pup was to small and not ready  & choked to death .
Small breeds do need a common sense approach 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Dogsfevr

[Amazetl]

15 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

We have used farex for near 30 yrs at the 3/4 week stage never had any issues .

Used on breeds that would be similar size to the op pups which is small.

Farex is used by many successfully with goats milk and becomes a good meal .

We don't start meat until they have mastered the farex stage as there so small and then we absolutely use mince and then the blender to create a slush suitable.

 

When we had our large breed pup it was the polar opposite in what they could eat safely .

 

I would not give a tiny breed a bone until way older .

 

As a note a friend very successful Pom breeder lost a pup at 3/4 weeks as they opted to do the meat suggestion and pup was to small and not ready .

That is so sad about the pom puppy.

 

I was raising medium size pups and they were so little and so new to licking up any milk, sometimes they would have a go one meal and then the next ignore it and just want their bottle. After several days of trying to get them more onto the lapping up milk (and wasting a bit of formula in the process!) they were successful and finally got it. Then I added in just a little bit of crunched up wheat bix so that there was some texture but mainly formula and it went down really well. After a few days of this it was onto mostly formula with a little bit of completely blended to mush dry food (as well as some bottles still as they adjusted). 

[jjj8]

Hey guys a new set of questions 

Pups are 4 weeks old now

-Should i leave a bowl on water in with them at all times ? 

- should i remove the heating pad now ? 

 

- im having trouble getting them to eat puppy mush i have to feed it to them from my finger i want them.to get in there and eat it by them selfs same with the water they lick  somtimes but not much 

 

Thanks 

[Rebanne]

Take out the heat pad. And yes leave a bowl of water for them. I believe toy pups can be little buggers at times getting them started eating. As mine are large breed and were devouring chicken necks by 4 weeks I'll leave it to others to help you out

[jjj8]

6 hours ago, Rebanne said:

Take out the heat pad. And yes leave a bowl of water for them. I believe toy pups can be little buggers at times getting them started eating. As mine are large breed and were devouring chicken necks by 4 weeks I'll leave it to others to help you out

They dont need the heating pad anymore ?

Yeah ill see how i go tonight 

[Boronia]

@jjj8 some photies would be advisable at this stage

[Dogsfevr]

On 09/01/2023 at 11:48 AM, jjj8 said:

Hey guys a new set of questions 

Pups are 4 weeks old now

-Should i leave a bowl on water in with them at all times ? 

- should i remove the heating pad now ? 

 

- im having trouble getting them to eat puppy mush i have to feed it to them from my finger i want them.to get in there and eat it by them selfs same with the water they lick  somtimes but not much 

 

Thanks 

Bowl of water yes BUT make sure its not a full bowl that they could drown .
As someone who has bred small breed pups at 4 weeks some eat like gusto some dont .
Simple reality is there is no easy option ,raising puppies is hard work as you have found out & you need to teach with patience lapping & food .
We generally use a spoon or our finger .
When the penny drops it will happen .Fun and messy .
Heat pad out BUT again be mindful of the air con if on & them not being in a drafty spot .
Just be patient & feed time is like finger painting time sometimes you just have to let them go & they learn from it it.
Warmish flannel & wet ones your best friend

Edited January 11, 2023 by Dogsfevr

[jjj8]

So smaller breeds take much longer to eat on thier own compared to bigger breeds ? 

[Amazetl]

I’m not experienced in small breeds but I would imagine a reason could be that they have such a smaller face and mouth to eat. The first several days could be just playing in the mush before they decide to eat some.

 

Are you mixing plenty of formula with the mush the first few times? Introduce the mush in small quantities and mostly milk still and then each time increase a bit until the mush is with water. 

 

Some puppies fall asleep next to the water bowl or even with their face in it so make sure it’s a small bowl or not too full and check they always have some water in there but not enough that they could drown. They should be better with water and being safer in a couple weeks time or so. 

 

They shouldn’t need a heat pad anymore as they can better manage their temperature but have a cosy area for them and an area they can get to if they are too hot. 

[jjj8]

On 10/01/2023 at 6:04 AM, Boronia said:

@jjj8 some photies would be advisable at this stage

Hey ive tried uploading pics but its saying the file is too large

[~Anne~]

9 hours ago, jjj8 said:

Hey ive tried uploading pics but its saying the file is too large

I use an app called Compress - it’s free (if you don’t upgrade to pro) and simple to use.
 

Just click out of the ads or it will be getting you to join up to the paid version. They’re annoying, but I use it so infrequently I don’t care. 

[Rebanne]

Or Easy Thumbnails. I've used the free version for nearly as long as there have been personal computers

 

https://www.fookes.com/easy-thumbnails

[Papillon Kisses]

You can change it within the upload settings, or at least I can. Click where it says show selected and the size, and it will give you size options.

[~Anne~]

37 minutes ago, Papillon Kisses said:

You can change it within the upload settings, or at least I can. Click where it says show selected and the size, and it will give you size options.

Oh, I didn’t know that. Thanks. I’ll have to try it next time I try to upload something. 

[jjj8]

Should i take the mum away from the pups ? Coz she still has some milk and i wsnt them to get hungry and eat when i gove them thier food. I still have to kind off feed them and they are nearly 6 weeks old...  i dunno if they just arent hungry or what.

Somtimes they start eating on thier own but not much

[persephone]

Don't take mum away- it is vitally important she stay with them to teach them how to "dog" This is an important phase in their life . So, as long as they are putting on weight/look round and are happy - they are getting well fed from whichever source . 
By the way, by hand feeding them so often, you are training them that "This is how dogs eat" ;) 
When they are hungry, if the food smells good, they will eat it!

Try them on tiny balls of fresh raw mince, and see if there is a different attitude...often times the smell of raw meat can turn them into starving wolves!